Date Akiko
Akiko is one of Jack's best friends and the niece of Masamoto. She is also Yamato's cousin. Personality Akiko may, at first glance, may seem like a harmless little girl, but she (like everyone else) is quite strict about etiquette and is often seen berating Jack about his lack of manners. She, like a few women, is a warrior at heart, and was offended when Jack was surprised at her fighting skill. She had then proceeded to tell him that not only men fought on the battlefield, unlike in England. She has defended and encouraged Jack when Kazuki or some other person was insulting him, telling him that they had no right to call him a gaijin. She also is quite close to Yamato, an example of this being when she instantly changed the subject during a conversation at the mention of Tenno, Yamato's older brother, by Saburo. She is also spying on the ninja forces, revealed in the Way of the Dragon. - Masamoto's reason for her to train in the Art of The Ninja - to know the enemy. Also revealed mainly at the end of the Way of the Dragon, Akiko shows much affection for Jack. Appearances Way of the Warrior Akiko is first seen by Jack when he was aboard the Alexandria, later, after the wako (ninja pirates) attacked the ship and everyone apart from him was killed he was nursed through a fever by her and another maid. Afterward, she taught Jack the japanese language and the ways of her people. She was also taking care of Jack's wounds after his spars with Yamato, who was at the time still hostile towards Jack. Later on, she accompanies Jack and Yamato to Kyoto, again to Jack's immense surprise, to enroll in the Niten Ichi-Ryū (One School of Two Heavens), a school for Samurai. Later on she is seen warding of Dokugan Ryu's attempts to steal the Rutter. After Yamato's later defection to the Yagyu Ryū, she trains along side Jack and Saburo in preparation for the Taryu-Jiai, a competition between two schools, in this case, the Yagyu Ryū and the Niten Ichi Ryū. At the festival that took place after the Tairyu-Jiai, she, along with the rest of the group, went into the daimyo's palace after Jack's sighting of Dokugan Ryu. She fights well against the ninja, alongside Jack and Yamato, even throwing a wakazashi into his side. She afterwards, in the Southern Zen garden, asks Jack if he still wants to go home. Jack was about to give her and answer, when Sensei Yosa asked to talk with Akiko. Before she leaves, she tells Jack that Japan can be his home too. Way of the Sword In book two Akiko signs up to participate in the Circle of Three, a test designed to push the body and mind to it's limits to see who is worthy of place learning the Two Heavens under Masamoto. Way of the Dragon In book three Akiko and Jack are in the middle of the civil war The Ring of Earth Akiko briefly returns after receiving Jack's coded message that Hanzo could be her long lost brother. She would make her appearance in the middle of the battle between daimyo Akechi's forces and Shonin's ninja clan. Just as a samurai is about to bear down on Miyuki and Jack, she knocks him unconscious with Fall Down FIst, and reveals her identity. Initially distrusting of Akiko, Miyuki grudgingly acknowledges her as an ally and she is introduced to the clan. She would take part in the operation to liberate the captured members of the ninja clan. Jack and Miyuki would successfully take the key to the captives' cage from Gemnan, but Miyuki had made an error when crossing the Nightingale floor, and alerted enemy forces to their presence. After another huge fight, the clan make their escape. In the aftermath of damiyo Akechi's death, Akiko explains her presence to Grandmaster Soke and Hanzo, and the latter is delighted at the prospect of having a samurai sister. Akiko would have to bid him farewell soon as the ninja clan are evacuating to another base deep within the mountains, and they can't risk any outsider knowing about the location. She makes the decision to inform her mother about Hanzo, and gives Jack a kiss before departing for Toba. Relationships *Jack Fletcher - She becomes very close to Jack throughout the books, and later on the relationship deepens, maybe even into love. *Yamato - He was like a brother to Akiko and she was very upset at his apparent death. Category:Characters Category:Main Characters Category:Female Category:Japanese Category:Samurai Category:The Way of the Sword Characters Category:The Way of the Dragon Characters Category:The Ring of Earth Characters Category:The Way of the Warrior Characters Category:Pages in need of improvement Category:Pages Under Construction Category:Protagonists Category:Ninja